2017: A record-breaking year for Australian wine exports
Market bulletin | Issue 91
Australian wine exports increased by 15 per cent to $2.56 billion in the 12 months ending December 2017, according to Wine Australia’s Export Report released today.
It was a record-breaking year for Australian wine exports, with total volume reaching a calendar year high of 811 million litres, the average value of bottled wine growing by 3 per cent to a record value of $5.63 per litre free on board (FOB), and the value of wines exported above $10 per litre increasing by 29 per cent to an all-time high of $738 million.
Wine exported in bulk also experienced price increases, with total value increasing by 10 per cent to $440 million and average value per litre increasing by 6 per cent to $1.03, the highest average value since 2012.
There were healthy growth rates in almost all price points, revealing added value across the price spectrum (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Exports by price point (FOB)
Price segment (A$/litre) |
MAT December 2017 |
Value change |
Growth rate |
---|---|---|---|
$2.49 and under |
$511,230,356 |
$76,436,923 |
18% |
$2.50 to $4.99 |
$829,999,393 |
$42,768,086 |
5% |
$5.00 to $7.49 |
$332,034,222 |
$48,491,468 |
17% |
$7.50 to $9.99 |
$150,448,428 |
$8,126,188 |
6% |
$10.00 to $14.99 |
$200,552,005 |
$30,711,339 |
18% |
$15.00 to $19.99 |
$76,674,239 |
($10,110,144) |
-12% |
$20.00 to $29.99 |
$131,612,861 |
$49,267,099 |
60% |
$30.00 to $49.99 |
$94,210,830 |
$32,374,491 |
52% |
$50.00 to $99.99 |
$164,096,793 |
$35,281,907 |
27% |
$100.00 to $199.99 |
$17,152,041 |
$4,715,133 |
38% |
$200.00 + |
$53,727,561 |
$21,643,089 |
67% |
Total value |
$2,561,738,728 |
$339,705,582 |
15% |
As illustrated in Figure 2, exports to Northeast Asia were the growth driver with exports to this region increasing by 47 per cent to over $1 billion for the first time.
Exports also grew to:
- Europe by 1 per cent to $576 million
- Southeast Asia by 2 per cent to $165 million, and
- Oceania by 8 per cent to $94 million.
Exports to North America decreased slightly by 2 per cent to $636 million. However, exports of wines to the United States of America (USA) valued at $10 per litre or more (that sell for US$14 or more per bottle retail) increased by 8 per cent to $45 million.
Figure 2: Value growth by region
Red wine continued to be the most popular Australian wine style exported, contributing three-quarters of total export value. The value of red wine exports increased by 19 per cent to $1.9 billion. The value of white wine also grew, by 3 per cent to $552 million.
Although a smaller category, sparkling wine also grew at an encouraging rate of 7 per cent to $49 million. Driving this increase was the growth in popularity of Australian sparkling wine in New Zealand and China, where the exported value increased by $2 million for each market.